Solitude

The inner most place that a person can go, yet it seems to be the hardest to obtain. The effect of solitude is either one of great pleasure, or one of great hardship. What do we really learn about ourselves when we are alone? The small parts of life can be the most deceiving, when they are not looked at in great detail. In fact, it is the details that force us into the greatest reflection. Solitude, therefore, is the most interpersonal reflection that a human being can experience. Solitude allows us to see life, both in general and in detail, as differently as we allow it to be.

The causes as to why people may choose to lead a life absent of others can vary in detail, but all comes back to reflection. Many of the religious field lock themselves away in order to find a deeper meaning and understanding of some greater deity. Artists often need a quiet place without outside disturbance. Scientists and inventors commonly feel that they can figure out the problem themselves if just given enough time and space.

All people in solitude have one thing in common with each other, they all have to be alone. It is a self-reflection. Not necessarily self-improvement, but a time to be within only one’s own thoughts. The act of being alone will drive most people mad. Lead to an insanity which one cannot break. This is why so few people actually remain in solitude for any great amount of time. Most people lack the discipline to make solitude worthwhile. Those who are the most productive are those who can think to the highest levels of thought. Take Henry David Thoreau for example, Walden has to be the greatest American reflection, which is why so few can even understand it let alone get through it.

Solitude is one of the hardest achievements for a person because it involves the most work. The hardest thing for a person to do is to think. Solitude is reflection and reflection is thinking. Thinking can lead to great understandings that allow a person to envision the world in new and joyous ways, or it can expose truths that show us the deeper realities of life, which conflicts with what one wishes to be true. Taking time for just thoughts is the most boring thing for the dull minded or the most challenging thing for the cognitive mind. Reflection is not only a process, but a production. True thinking is a reflection taken within mental solitude.

Solitude is the hermitage of thought. The motor of thinking and the production of advancement. Solitude is the discipline of the mind forever toiling the questions of the world.